Latch bar hammer for dipper buckets



Aug. 4, 1936. E. YOUNIE LATCH BAR HAMMER FOR DIPPER BUCKETS Filed April15, 1935 Patented Aug. 4, 1936 UNITED STATES LATCH BAR HAMMER FOR DIPPERBUCKETS Lewis E. Younie, Portland, .Oreg assignor-to Electric SteelFoundry Company, Portland,

Oreg.

Application April 13, 1935, Serial No. 16,229

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to excavating machinery andparticularly to a latch bar hammer for dipper buckets.

The main object of this invention is the pro- Vision of an improved formof latching mechanism for dipper buckets whereby the latch will functionproperly at all times, even when handling heavy sticky materials.

A secondary object is to cause the latch to be driven forcibly by animpact both in latching and unlatc-hing directions.

These, and other objects, will become more apparent from thespecification following as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the gate end of a dipper bucket showingthe device in a latched position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. l.

0 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 3-3 in Fi 1.

Fig, 4 is a fragmentary section taken along the line lt in Fig. 1showing the gate about to close.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing 25 the gate closed and.the plug being forcibly ejected by the latch.

Fig. 6 is a section through a modified form of the latching mechanism.

Similar numbers of reference refer to similar 30 parts throughout theseveral views.

Referring in detail to the drawing, there is shown a common form ofdipper bucket whose front I0 is attached to the sides II and whose dooror bottom I2 is hinged to the rear side of 35 the bucket by means of thearms I3 and pins I4.

The front III is provided with a latch plate I5 having an opening I6which receives the latch bar II, which is slidably mounted in the latchbar housing I8. The housing I8 is secured to the 40 door I2 by means ofthe cross braces I9. The foremost end of the latch bar I! is beveled tofacilitate the latching operation.

To the rearmost end of the latch bar I1 is attached a lever 2I by meansof a pin 22. The lever 2I is fulcrumed on the pin 23 which is adjustablysupported by means of the eye bolt 24 and nut 25 which latter rests uponthe rearmost brace member I9.

Secured to the door I2 is a guide 26 in which is 00 slidably mounted ahammer 21 to one end of which is securedan operating chain 28. The chain28 may be secured to a lug 29 on the forward end of the hammer 21 if theconstruction of the bucket renders this desirable.

55 Extending through the hammer 21 is a longitudinal slot 30 throughwhich is slidably passed the lever 2|. It is desirable to provide guides3| on the door l2 for the lever 2I.

The operation of this form of the device is as follows: 5

p The hammer 21 is normally in the position shown in Fig. 1, that is,resting upon the lever 2| If it is desired to unlatch the bucket, theoperator merely exerts a pull on the chain 28, causing the hammer 21 tomove. The first posi- 10 tion of its movement, however, does not affectthe lever 2I' until the end of the slot 30 is reached, which causes asharp blow to be struck against the forward side of the lever 2 I, andwithdrawing the latch bar I1 from the opening I6. 15

The same is true of the closing operation as shown in Fig. 5 in which areturn movement of the hammer 21 will cause a sharp blow to be struckagainst the latch bar'II and forcibly eject the plug 32 from the openingI6. 20

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 6, the lever 2I extends throughthe slot 33 of a tubular guide 34 within which is disposed a hammer 35,which is preferably cushioned against a spring 36. The guide 34 issecured on the door I2 and 25 corresponds with the guide 26. Alsofastened on the door I2 is a tubular guide 31, through-which passes anoperating chain 38, which is secured to the lever 2 I.

The operation of this form of the device is sim- 3O ilar to that shownin Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, except that the blow is struck only on thelatching movement of the lever 2I instead of in both directions as inthe first described form of the device.

Obviously, this may be accomplished in many 35 different ways withoutdeparting from the spirit of this invention. I therefore do not intendto be bound by the particular form shown in the drawing or described inthe specification, but intend to cover all such forms of the device asfall fairly within the appended claims.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the operating chain 38 is attacheddirectly to the lever 2| while the weight 35 is raised by the lever 2|;that is to say, it can strike a blow only for the purpose of driving outthe plug 32, whereas in the preferred form of the device shown in Fig.1, the chain 28 is attached to the hammer 21 Which is capable of drivingthe lever 2| in either direction.

I claim:

1. In a dipper bucket having a hinged door at its rearmost end, a latchat the swinging end of said door, said latch engaging an opening at thebucket front, means for manually Withdrawing said latch from saidopening and a hammer for forcing said latch into said opening whenbrought into register therewith.

2. In a dipper bucket having a door at the outlet thereof and hinged tothe rear side of the bucket and latched to the front side thereof, alatching mechanism consisting of a latch and keeper for holding saiddoor in a closed position, a lever for actuating said latch, a movableweight associated with said lever and adapted to impart a striking blowthereto in a. manner to force said latch into said keeper when'said doorisin a closed position.

3. In a dipper bucket having the bottom thereof in the form of a doorhinged at its rearward side to said bucket and having a latch barmounted 'on said door adapted to engage a keeper in said bucket, amechanism for operating said latch bar consisting of a chain foroperating said bar in one direction and a weight actuated by said barfor driving the same by impact in an opposite direction.

4. A latching mechanism for dipper buckets consisting of a latch bar andkeeper, a lever for actuating said latch bar, a slotted hammer throughwhich said lever extends and means for raising said hammer in a mannerto strike a blow against said lever and permitting said hammer to strikea blow on said lever in an opposite direction under the action ofgravity.

LEWIS E. YOUNIE.

